The original Baker St irregular
by RollyMo
Summary: Meet Tori, Sherlock's right hand girl. For her its fun and games but helping the detective is a guaranteed path to danger. OC No Romance. First Fan Fic!
1. Chapter 1

When I was a kid I never had imaginary friends, I wasn't scared of the dark or clowns or spiders. I didn't have time for make believe stories and the creepy big house on the corner, was just a house. But when I was sixteen I started seeing this man, the scariest thing I've ever seen, in my mind. He was the opposite of an imaginary friend. Whenever I was feeling scared or alone, he'd come and make in ten times worse. He turned me against my friends, hurt the people I love the most. Poisoning my mind and pushing me way past the brink of insanity.

All without ever coming face to face with me.

Then one day he got bored with the little game he played with my mind. So he tried to kill me.

* * *

><p>Tori felt the wind brush past her cheeks as she ran from the greying security guard onto the street. The brim of the brown fedora she was wearing got caught by the wind and blew off to reveal her long black curly hair. She quickened her pace to turn the corner, as the security guard started puffing. He was a large man; clearly out of shape but irritatingly keen on not letting her go. She turned the corner to find Sherlock and John waiting next to a cab.<p>

"Get in" Sherlock opened the side door and pushed her in, shutting it behind her. The guard turned the corner as she hid from view. After a few seconds of confused searching, he back tracked, thinking she'd hidden somewhere. As soon as he disappeared from view she opened the car door and stood in front of the older men, annoyance flashing across her features.

"You didn't have to push me so hard!" Tori tried to brush away the wrinkles from the front of her mussed up clothes.

"Did you get it?" Sherlock asked, brushing aside her complaints absentmindedly.

"Yes" she went through the pockets of her grey dress for the black velvet ring box before finding it in the inside her black jacket. He took the box, opened it and took out the garishly large diamond incrusted ring.

"Here" throwing it in her direction, which she caught easily in her left hand, without moving the rest of her body. "Think of it as a bonus".

"But…" John started.

Sherlock held up his hand to silence him, pulling the velvet padding out to reveal a note. "John call Lestrade. It was the fiancé". He stored it away in the pockets of his coat and turned to open the cab door and, always the gentleman, let John and Tori in first.

They reached Baker Street in a few minutes and Tori left the car, waved goodbye to the two men and ran up the orphanage steps.

She had always liked the home, a big three storey building that seemed to have had very little renovations since it was built in the 1800's. Apart from the additions of light and electricity, it could have been the set of a Victorian romance series on afternoon T.V. The expensive wall paper and net curtains created the atmosphere of an Agatha Christie novel, her favourite. It made her feel more like a proper sleuth, reading case studies by flickering candle light (a dying torch) in the dead of night, watching passer-by's from behind the dirtied windows.

She yelled a brief hello to Abby, the head care worker, and ran to the stairs, up to the first floor.

She crept lightly, it was the designated nap time for all the youngest kids, and entered her room.

It may have been the smallest, but she didn't mind, all she really needed was a bed, desk and wardrobe.

There were no posters of boy bands or movie stars on the wall, no clothes piling up on the floor. The only trace of a fifteen year old living there was the faded purple bed spread and the full length mirror in the corner.

Tori looked at her reflection with interest. She was small and thin, but not what people would call 'petite', with very ghostly pale skin that in some lights had an almost greenish tinge. Her dark grey eyes were very large and, from constant lack of sleep, often had violet circles underneath. She quite liked her hair, probably the only quality she did, it curled wildly, reaching just below the small of her back.

A boy from primary school had once told her she looked like a rag doll, the ones with black button eyes and wool hair. He had suffered multiple bruises and a twisted wrist, she'd been moved to a different school. Again.

She sighed and fell onto her bed, fishing in her pocket for the ring Sherlock had given. It was pretty and defiantly worth something. A clear cut diamond set in a simple silver band. Inscribed on the inside was the message _for a love that lasts forever_. Shame the fiancé was cheating on him with his now deceased brother.

Holding it up to the summer afternoon light streaming through the curtains, she was almost blinded by the sparkling light that just missed her eye.

_A.N_

_So what do you think, do you like Tori? Think she's an interesting character? Chapter two will give some insight into her backstory and how she and Sherlock met._

_Also, this is set in the summer, a few years after the Great game, Tori is sixteen, nearly seventeen, and has left school. Most of this is explained in later chapters, but I thought I'd let you know._

_Most of it's already written so their won't be lengthy waits between uploads._

_Please reviewers are more welcomed than chocolate! And with better health bonus's. _

_Love Rosie_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Tori dreamt of something odd, that night, one she'd had hundreds of times before.

She was barely a day old and left in a bin.

It was dark and damp with a smell that even her underdeveloped senses could pick out and shudder.

Suddenly, the ground started to move.

The bin men were about to lift the bin and empty it into their van. She would have been crushed by the rubbish if she hadn't chosen that moment to exercise her lungs and screamed with all her might. The scratched plastic lid opened and that sight was replaced by a worried and wrinkled old face. And like every time, that was when she woke up

She had lived her whole life in care, for some reason which had been forgotten down the years, she had never been fostered as a baby. Then, when old enough, she had no need for parents and refused to even meet foster families. She'd move to a different home now and again because it had closed down or doctors, wrongly, thought it would be good for her to change scenery.

Both she and Sherlock had dreamt of the time they'd first met, four months ago. It was 3 am and she was sitting in a train. She'd move to Baker Street a few weeks ago and had sneaked out for no particular reason other than to see how easy it was. Her journey had taken her a bit further than she'd meant and had to use the late night train. Sherlock would never usually use trains but he was following a serial killer who chose the tracks at midnight, an interesting place to store his victims. Unfortunately, and not altogether his fault, he had gotten trapped in the train toilet, tied and gagged by the serial killer. Tori had been watching the dark scenery pass by when she saw the tall Caucasian man leaving the toilet, limping slightly. Twenty minutes after he'd first entered.

Waiting till he was at a safe distance (two carriages) away and crept over to the door. Pressing her ear to the cold metal she could just hear a slight muffle. She pushed the door open to see a tall man with black curly hair and pale skin tied by course rope to the sink pipe. He was gagged by a cheap silk scarf, but what Tori's eyes were drawn to the green cord tied around his neck. She fell to her knees and started to untie it. The knot was tight, but she had had enough practises when the little kids would use her shoes to learn how to tie their laces. Basically she had a lot of practice untying previously impossible knots. After half a minute of struggling and a hang nail on her right index finger, it finally came loose and the man greedily gulped for air.

"Thank you" he croaked, after she'd untied the scarf.

"Don't strain your voice" she wrestled the rope to free his hands so he could massage his throat.

"Who are you" he cocked his head, trying to analyse her.

She wasn't unnerved by this; many adults had tried to understand her. Though usually it was a psychiatrist behind a desk, not the almost victim of a serial killer on a train bathroom.

"Tori Luck" she helped him to his feet and pulled him out of the toilet, the smell was overpowering.

"Sherlock Holmes" he held out his hand as he slumped into a train seat.

She shook it and sat down opposite him. "So, who was the man that locked you in there?"

He stared at her. Normal people would have been more reserved when asking questions like that or skim round the subject all together. But Tori was completely stone faced, her eyes large and inquisitive.

"Carlson Hedges, a serial killer, I was following" He expected her to run, scream or faint but she sat completely still. He watched her for a second. "You've lived in a care home your whole life. Defensive stance. Parents didn't die but abandoned you at birth. Arms crossed over your chest in protection. But you don't want to find them. Never been fostered and don't intend to. Once you reach sixteen you want to move into your own home and leave your life behind".

"Very good" He was surprised; she didn't ask how she knew, just looked at him, slowly blinking. "Now you. You're a detective" She continued.

"Interesting" he relaxed a little in his seat. "What makes you say that?"

"You were chasing a serial killer on a train at 3 in the morning. So my first thought was assassin. Man like that would have had enemies"

"But…" he raised an eyebrow.

"No weapons. Maybe a member of the police but no backup and it's not a job for an officer"

He chuckled, she was good.

"Also no policeman could tell all that about me. From my experience policemen aren't that smart. So… detective".

"Good, I'm a consulting detective actually. Only one in existent, I invented the job. When the police are out of their depth, they come to me".

They sat for a while in comfortable silence before Sherlock asked "Where do you live Tori?"

She pulled her legs up onto the seat. "Baker street children's home".

"And you move there a month ago…"

"Just under a month" she interrupted.

"And they don't know that you're out here?"

"Of course not" she smirked. "I just wanted to go for a little trip and I went a bit far. You live on Baker Street too, don't you?"

Sherlock was slightly put off by this and shuffled in his seat.

"I'll take that as a yes. Don't worry it's not noticeable, but when you mentioned the street your left little finger twitched".

He fought the urge to look down at his hand.

"A little tick brought on when hearing relative information. I only noticed because I do the same thing" she stretched her arms as the train stopped. "My stop"

"Mine too" they both got up and left the train. There was no one else on the platform except a sleeping hobo under the rain shelter. He followed Tori as they made their way towards Baker Street, she was an unusual person.

Even though it was incredibly dark and late she didn't seem to care that he was a complete stranger, just carried on walking.

The care home stood in front of him as he watched Tori run to the side of the building and then climb up the wall with surprising ease.

She had always been good at climbing, and this building was especially simple. The stones were old and so had perfect crevices for her feet and hands. She opened her bedroom window and pulled herself in.

He window was about to closed before a small hand stuck out again and waved, Sherlock smiled and

turned to head towards 221 Baker St.

_A.N_

_Yes, the chapters are smaller than I wanted, but I also wanted them short enough to simply read through, if you understand what I mean. I hope everyone likes Tori, and I promise there will be no more flash backs. If you want more information about her that you thought I didn't cover, please ask in your reviews and I'll try and answer them._

_Love Rosie_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Waking up in her bed, Tori pulled the covers back over her head to stop the blinding morning sun beating down on her face. Before she had time to go back to sleep Amy, the five year old who lived in the room next door, pulled back the covers and climbed into her bed.

"Can you take me to the park today" Amy pulled the covers closer to her, light red hair still fuzzy from sleep.

"Sorry" She sat up, rubbing away the sleep from her eyes. "I'm working"

"But your always working" Amy whined. "Why do you even like cleaning that old ladies house?"

Of course, none of the children knew what her real job was, they would just tell Abby. She'd told them that Mrs Hudson was paying her to clean out her house every day. It gave her a good excuse to be at 221 on a regular basis and Mrs Hudson didn't mind lying for her. Said it wasn't half as bad as some of the things she done in her day, although she wasn't quite sure what to think about that.

"I'm not meant to enjoy it. It's a job" Amy rolled her eyes and slunk under the covers until only the top of her dark head could be seen.

Tori sighed. "How about I try and finish early and we go and get ice creams later" She couldn't say no to the little girl. Amy was practically her sister; they'd lived in the same care homes before and did everything together. Well almost everything. She always felt bad for not being able to spend enough time with her. Amy crawled out and was about to speak when Tori's phone rang.

New case. Need assistance, come quickly. Tower Bridge. SH

"Sorry Mrs Hudson's hip's playing up and she needs me to get the shopping for her" She slid out of bed pulled a grumbling Amy with her. "Why don't you go and watch TV". The little girl scowled before closing the door as she left.

After she'd showered and changed, she started to make her way toward Tower Bridge. The sun was high up and the temperature was rising. She pulled her leather jacket off and decided to walk down a quieter back road. The shadows from the tall buildings gave the street a cool silence.

A black town car drove quietly behind her, she'd noticed it following her a few streets back but thought against running. She knew if she did the car would possibly run her over. As it slowed down she stopped.

"Get in" A voice ordered opening the door.

Tori sat down next to a young woman texting on her blackberry.

"So where are we going?" she didn't expect an answer and the woman just smirked.

"Not a big talker are we? Well give my love to your fiancé, I know I hate it when I'm sick"

The woman didn't move her gaze from her phone, but paused in what she was typing.

"In the side compartment is a paper cup of coffee with a hospital emblem on the front. On your ring finger is the faintest mark of where a ring has been, you wore it in the night but take it off for work. Not big enough for a wedding ring, so fiancé. You have no immediate family, so who else would you take time to see every morning in hospital?"

The woman raised an eyebrow before going back to the text she was about to send, Tori sighed and gave up trying to get her attention before resting her eyes and trying to get some sleep.

_A.N_

_Another extremely short chapter so I am treating you and delivering the next chapter for the price of one! I must say I enjoy writing Tori's relation to the cannon characters in Sherlock. _

_Although in these earlier chapter's there seems to be an awful lack of Tori and John, which will be remedied in the future. I swear. _

_Love Rosie_


	4. Chapter 4

_READ PLEASE_

_If you don't already know, I uploaded two chapters together. I thought the third was a bit short. Just wanted to let you know, I understand fully how confusing it can be to miss a chapter. So if you haven't already, go back and read Chapter three. If you have read it, carry on._

Chapter four

Pros and cons of being a baker street irregular.

Pro: no one ever suspects a teenage girl of undermining criminals and murders.

Con: no one ever believes the teenage girl when she tells them of the criminals and murderers.

Pro: you get to meet lots of interesting and exciting people.

Con: most of them are either dangerous criminals, members of the police, or sociopaths.

Pro: you see hundreds of amazing buildings that you'd never get to see anywhere else

Con: there is very little time to appreciate them as you run passed them at high speed, usually being chased by guards or gang thugs.

Biggest Pro: life isn't boring anymore.

Biggest Con: there's a strong chance you'll be killed, end up in hospital or worse of all, your social workers find out you're a Baker Street irregular.

When the car stopped the woman tied a blind fold over Tori's eyes.

She felt a pair of arms pull her out of the car and force her to walk for several minutes.

Someone pulled off the fabric and she saw she was in a dark warehouse. A tall dark haired man in an expensive three piece suit, leaning on a black umbrella walked forward, a cold smile on his face.

"You must be Mycroft Holmes"

"Sherlock told you about me?" The edges of his mouth twitched and one of his eyebrows rose.

"No, but it was easy to figure out. You have the same voice, eyes and stance. Plus your assistant has the name Mycroft written in her binder. You might want to fire her if you really care about your security".

He laughed but it didn't stretch to his eyes. "Very good"

"Thank you"

"So you probably know why I brought you here?"

"Of course, you want me to pay me to spy on Sherlock"

"Correct again"

"I won't do it"

"I'm preparing to give you a good price"

"I really don't need your money"

"Yes you do, Tori. Full name Victoria Luck. Found outside 'Dan's deli', a day old. Lived in six different care homes. Never been fostered and no way of supporting yourself apart from the money Sherlock has given you" He recited it with such ease it was as though he'd learnt it from birth.

"You read my files"

"It wasn't that hard"

"You think I would do that for money" Tori crossed her arms defensively. "Then you really don't know me"

"So is that a no?" he tilted his head in question.

"It's a no"

"Then there is nothing more I need from you"

"Well then" She turned to leave but Mycroft's words stopped.

"I'll be seeing you again soon Victoria" She hated it with a vengeance when people used her full name.

Without turning back she said "Oh I'm just counting the minutes"

Sherlock was lying on his sofa picking the strings on his violin as Lestrade stood above him. "I'm busy"

"No you're not" John called from in the kitchen.

"Fine" He sat up, placed his violin on the table and took the case file from Lestrade.

"Mike Townsford, 18, suffocated outside a supermarket in Camden. On his way to his therapist…"

"Anger issues" Sherlock interrupted.

"That's what they thought" Lestrade knew better than to ask him how he knew that. It saved time in the long run.

Sherlock threw the case back at Lestrade lazily "I'll need the morgue results immediately"

Lestrade sighed and picked up the papers off the ground. "They're on their way"

The flat door slammed shut making both the doctor and the inspector jump. Tori slunk into the arm chair ignoring the look from Sherlock who disliked people sitting in 'his' seat.

"The next time your brother wants to kidnap tell him to just phone"

John looked at her in alarm, "Wait! Mycroft kidnapped you?"

She nodded slightly "So to speak"

John was going to investigate further when she cut him off. "Why do you have a picture of Mikey on your floor Sherlock?"

"He died last night. How did you know him?" Lestrade asked staring at her.

"We used to have the same social worker" she ignored the lump in her throat, preferring to stay neutral for the case. "If you want to find the killer ask Penny his old girlfriend. She was really mad when they broke up"

"I'll go and call base to see if we can get Penny" Lestrade started towards the door but not before taking one last look at Tori and Sherlock, both staring at the celling he with a gun pointed at the wall.

"I'm going to the surgery" John called, following after the DI. "And I don't want you using the gun Sherlock. You either, Tor".

"So" The Detective glanced over at her, after the two older men had left "My brother kidnapped you, I'm guessing he wants you to spy on me".

"No you don't"

"Hmm?" he looked at her.

"You never guess. And yes, he was"

"So did you agree?"

"Nope, can't take on the extra hours"

He smirked not sure if she was joking or not. It was one of the reasons he liked her. Sometimes he could read her like a book. Then others she was so complicated he felt like his head was suffocating from the lack of knowledge.

"Shame, you could use the extra money" He knew all about her plans to buy a flat once she was eighteen.

"Nah! I have two more years" she put her legs up on the coffee table. "Anyway it would cut into my busy schedule"

_A.N._

_There you go. Fourth chapter all up and going. Surprisingly long, for me anyway, with a lot of conversation but that's what the story wants, so that's what the story gets. _

_I've also discovered a fantastic way of getting rid of irritating but sweet plot bunnies. The fantasticness of the drabble. I already have a large collection of scribbles surrounding Miss T-Luck filling up my computer and pretty spotty notebook which may be uploaded, once I've finished this of course, but only if I have enough cheer for this._

_Love Rosie_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

John returned home to find Tori asleep on the couch Sherlock watching over her. The teenager was smiling her impish grin and kicking something in her sleep.

He closed the door quietly, wincing when it creaked, and pulled Sherlock into the kitchen.

"Shouldn't she be at the home" He checked his watch. "She'll get into a lot of trouble if she's any later"

"Don't bother I have already asked Mrs Hudson to ring them and say she'll be working late" Sherlock leant back on the counter a smile playing on his lips.

"What?" John stared into his eyes.

"Oh nothing, just something Tori mentioned earlier" He looked back, noticing the curious tone, stood up straight and paced back to the flat. "Well I'm going to my room, call me when she wakes up".

John paused, still not sure what had happened. His flatmate never bothered with pleasantries before. He sat down at the kitchen table trying to clear a space for food.

"Ahhh!" John woke from his day dream to hear Tori's scream. Running into the room he could see no danger just her looking at her phone. "Amy's going to kill me, I'm already late".

"What's wrong?" he asked as he heard Sherlock's door open.

"I promised Amy I'd take her out in the afternoon" She grabbed her jacket and slipped on her converses.

"Tori" Sherlock's voice was low and steady and made her stop in her tracks. "I need you for a case"

"Sorry, but this can't wait" she was already making her way down the stairs.

John waited till the door had shut before turning to the detective.

"What?" Sherlock had fallen onto the couch, suddenly losing his calm stance.

"You" He sat down in the armchair opposite him. "You're acting like her father"

"I'm sorry"

"Somewhere in your mind you see Tori as your daughter"

"Don't be ridiculous…"

"No" he interrupted "That's why you were watching her sleep. You want to look after her"

Sherlock smirked belittlingly, but underneath his mind was in overdrive. Maybe there was some truth in what John was saying. It would explain why he was constantly worried about her, according to parents he had met they were always concerned of their offspring.

Though Tori defiantly wasn't his actual child. There was only one women at that time, and she would never. Would she?

But maybe it was because they were both so alike that he didn't think of the suggestion as ridiculous. He let out the breath he had no idea he was holding, grabbed the gun that was on the sofa arm and aimed at the wall.

_A.N_

_Well hope you enjoyed this shockingly short chapter, but I think it still had a big enough twist to it. I'll probably be putting up the next in the evening (UK time) if I can. _

_Is Sherlock a daddy? _

_Who is the mystery woman he knew? _

_Can't wait to find out? _

_Well you'll have to, because I only have a vague outline at this point, so there!_

_A big thank you and a hug to everyone who reviewed so far, I love feed back, even critisim. Also I've been trailing through youtube for series 2 vidieo's and oh my god it looks amazing! Hounds of the baskervile had Gorge from being human! I love being human, they flim across from my house! It's gonna be seriously good!_

_The best channel I've found is by romangirl88. She has loads of Cumberbatch vids and are updated alot. Oooh cant wait for series 2_

_Love Rosie_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

BANG!

Tori and Amy pushed full force at the park gate and ran towards the swings. The little girl hadn't been too mad, all it took was the promise of strawberry ice cream and the afternoon to themselves. The older girl sat down on the rubber seat, swaying gently. Her head felt funny, it was either from the news of Mike dying or the pain she sometimes got when she'd eaten too much sugar. Mikey had always been good to her. When they saw each other in the social offices, he always talked to her, he knew so much about her. She really did miss him, she missed the way he casually flirted with her. The way he always listened never judged. Tori had always been pretty good at hiding her feelings but right then she felt like forgetting all her barriers and having a cry.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked slipping off the swing and walking over to her.

"I'm just tired that's all" She pulled the girl onto her lap and swung them both. They sat like that for a few minutes each enjoying the silence. The little girl liked quiet, it was one of the reasons they got on so well. That and both of them had never known their parents, Amy's had died in a car crash when she was a few months old.

Their quiet enjoyment was short lived as Tori felt a presence behind her.

"Hello Sherlock" she twisted her head round not wanting to pull Amy out of her thought track.

"Meet me at the flat at six"

"But I have my curfew…"

"You'll find a way" He turned and walked off towards the black car, identical (and probably the actual same one) as the one she had gotten in earlier.

A minute after he'd left she woke Amy out of her stupor. "Hey I think it's about time we got back home for tea".

"Please!"

"No, you've use your late pass's this week" Abby whispered/shouted not wanting to wake the four year old twins who were dozing on the sofa.

"But I really need to go out tonight" She knew that asking was pointless, but was never one to back down.

"Look I can turn a blind eye if you come back fifteen minutes late but that's my final offer" the Care worker turned to go to her office.

"Oh forget it then!" Tori hissed and climbed the stairs to her room. Grabbing her bag she changed sent a quick text to Sherlock

You at Baker Street?

TL

No. running. Will be back soon

SH

See you there

TL

She creped silently down the stairs and out the front door. Running along the street she reached the house that she spent most of her time in, solving cases or outwitting the police. Sometimes both.

Getting out the spare key John had given her, she unlocked the door to hear noises coming from upstairs. Grabbing the nearest heavy object, a blue oriental vase, and slowly crept towards the door.

It was slightly ajar and she could hear the muffled voices of two, no three people. One female the other two male.

A shadow appeared in front of the door and she raised the vase above her head. Kicking the door open she smashed it over the man's head. Another figure started towards her so she ran at him, putting all of her force so it smashed into his stomach. He let out a cry of pain and Tori turned to see the woman and was surprised to see Sally Donavan backed into the corner.

"What did you do that for, freak" she muttered under her breath bending down to help up the guy she'd hit with the vase. With a flash of embarrassment she realised it was Lestrade.

"I'll get the first aid box" she mumbled as Donavan led the DI to the couch. Grabbing the box of supplies John kept in the kitchen, restocked every week because of the results of Sherlock's experiment.

"Remind me never to get in a fight with you" Lestrade said as she and Donavan checked his head for any shards of china.

"None that I can see of" Tori let him go and turned her attention to the other man.

He wasn't so much a man as a boy, about her age with white blonde hair, tanned skin and dark grey eyes.

"I think you may have broken my rib cage" he was clutching at his stomach his face contorted in pain

"If I had, you wouldn't be standing" she gestured for him to sit down in John's chair. "I am genuinely sorry, I thought you were murderers"

"Bit dramatic" Lestrade muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

"Well the last three times someone was in the flat without Sherlock or John being here they were all serial killers". She sat next to Lestrade on the couch, letting out short breaths until her breathing regulated.

"I supposed it must have looked suspicious"

"So why are you here" She had hoped for an exciting triple murder or something to keep Sherlock occupied for a few days. Her face fell when she heard Lestrade say.

"I have a couple of robbery cases I need him to look over. Also I wanted to show my nephew Declan around the place's I spend most of my time"

"Boring" she muttered barely audible to the others.

"If you're alright I'll head off" Donavan said in a much softer tone than the one she used for Sherlock or her. "I can't face another second in this freak show" she hissed to Tori as she passed.

"Tori, what's going on?" John's voice called through the hall.

Both he and Sherlock entered the flat to find the three of them looking pale faced and shocked.

"Can you check Lestrade, there was a little accident and he may have some shards of china in bedded in his skull" She had returned to her usual manner and was stretching out her legs. John rushed over and started to check him for concussion.

"You're going to ha.." Sherlock started.

"I know replace the vase" she waved her hands in an exasperated manner.

"I was actually going to say you're going to have apologised to Lestrade and his nephew" he got his violin from the desk and plucked at the strings.

"Its fine she already has" Lestrade pushed John away, fascinated by what was going on in front of him.

Tori was half listening to Sherlock and half focusing on dropping crumbs from her pockets for a mouse that had been foraging for food. The D.I. couldn't blame her. Sherlock had started onto a very boring lecture on apologising. He used the same tone with his own kids when they didn't listen to him. The scene was so familiar it did look like a family TV program. They even looked alike, curly dark hair, big dark eyes, scarily pale skin. No wonder people were constantly mistaking them for family.

"Well I brought you the morgue reports for Townsford" Lestrade said after the two had finished arguing. He didn't want to be there when they started getting out the guns. Especially with Declan.

Sherlock looked critically at Tori. "Sorry, again"

"See you Tori" Declan waved to her. She looked at him for a second before turning to face Sherlock.

Waiting till after they'd left she asked. "What was that?"

"You were being rude" He plucked at a few more strings.

"No I wasn't. And since when do you care about manners" She leant her head back and stared at the holes in the celling.

"It's different for me" He picked up the reports and flicked through them.

"Anything good?" She asked immediately deleting the argument from her memory, as Sherlock had just done.

"Well they missed everything important and I won't follow on with the case until I can see the body"

"His poor mum she's already lost her oldest in Iraq"

"Three years ago?"

"No five"

"What happened to his father?"

"Left before he was born, stepdad used to hit him and his little sister. His mum couldn't stand up for them and finally the stepdad was put in jail". She stretched her previously bent legs to rid them of the pins and needles that had settled.

"That was a little bit before we met at the care workers office. I'd just moved from a home near Dalston and we ended up meeting every week. His appointment ended just before mine started".

_A.N_

_Very long chapter, for me, with Tori showing a bit of her softer and tougher side. Not a big cliff hanger like last time. Before anyone asks, Mikey has very little to do with the plot, just a writing device to show Tori's emotional side a bit more, without being to soppy. And Declan will hopefully never be seen again. He is just someone I thought of that could make the 'fight' three against one. The next chapter will be very much Sherlock and Tori mucking about on a case and being, hopefully if my writing is good enough, a little sociopathic together. Fingers crossed_

_Love Rosie_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

Sherlock took a shot at the wall and rolled up his right sleeve.

"Patches?" she asked already reaching for the pack on the mantel piece.

"Three" He stretched out his arm and she handed them to him.

"Do they actually help?" Her eyes were trained on him, confusion mixed with their usual grey cockiness.

"Yes" He stuck them on and closed his eyes not expecting her to continue.

"Would they help me to think?" She sat up properly.

"No, you don't need it, you are already using more than efficient brain power than most people. Not that that's a hard task in itself" He didn't even open his eyes.

"What's going on?" John had returned from upstairs, most likely because of the gunshots.

"Tori was wondering if she should take up nicotine patches" Sherlock finally sat up getting out his phone and sending a text.

"And what did you say" John stared horrified, though neither couldn't understand why.

"I said no, she doesn't need it"

"So you didn't tell her she wasn't allowed to, just that she doesn't need it" he rolled his eyes and sat in his chair.

"It's fine. I wasn't going to actually try one" she looked at John in an _i-know-so-much-more-than-you _look. It was eerily similar to Sherlock's.

"I just wondered if it would help me think" She shrugged matter of factly before lying backwards.

John thought she was telling the truth and trying to convince her would take too long. "So no news on the case then?"

"None at all, the police have missed all the obvious details. ("Of course" both John and Tori muttered under their breath) And they will have destroyed anything of importance when I get there".

Tori checked her phone. "I've got an hour and a half till Abby wants me back, so what is it that you called me hear for?"

Sherlock seemed perplexed for a moment before remembering. "Oh yes we have dinner reservations at Angelo's with my brother"

"Sorry is that all, I had to beg for the extra time, and for what? Dinner?" She looked at him incredulously.

"Also Penny" He continued. "Mike's ex will be there with her boyfriend and I need to observe her"

"All right" she reluctantly got up. "What's our cover?"

"Daughter, out on a meal with her father and uncle"

"And am I right in assuming Mycroft isn't in on this?" She ran a hand through her curly hair.

"Correct. Here" he threw a bundle of clothes at her. "You can change in the bathroom"

"Oh Sherlock!" She complained holding up the blue dress.

Delicate, flowery and with capped sleeved.

Defiantly not her style. She was more suited to leggings, big t-shirts and converses, easy to climb over walls and to go unspotted in a crowd.

She changed into the dress (It would have looked nice on someone other than her) and walked back to the flat.

"You look nice" John called from the sofa; Sherlock had gone to his room to get changed.

"Shut up" she shot him a scathing look and pulled the thin straps up.

"You do" Sherlock said from behind her. "Come on, the car is waiting outside" He pulled her by the arm down the stairs and out the front door.

"I hate you!" she yelled at Sherlock as they ran after Penny. She was surprisingly fast, obviously been visiting the gym, and had lost a few pounds since Tori had last seen her.

"Shut up and run" He replied pushing her down one of the dark side streets. "We can cut her off if we take the root track". She had no idea where or what the root track was, she was still trying to process what had happened at the restaurant.

It had all been fine for the first half an hour; Sherlock had been too busy watching Penny to insult Mycroft. Then as Penny's boyfriend went to the bathroom Sherlock turned on Tori asking if she ever ate, he hadn't seen her before.

She threw it back in his court, that it was the exact reason he doesn't eat, then Mycroft said he would leave because he didn't want to get into their "Family affairs".

Tori got up to leave, which turned out to be a mistake. Penny recognised her and came over to catch up when she saw Sherlock.

Un be known to Tori, he had already questioned her earlier and hadn't been especially kind to her. As usual.

Penny started to panic and ran, as you would expect, and Sherlock followed.

"Go left" Sherlock called from ahead of her disappearing from view as he turned the corner. She ran out of the dark alley into the light of the late summer evening.

Sherlock was looking round for someone. "Dam! She must have got a cab" He got out his phone and started dialling. "She is good" a smile appeared on his face. "Lestrade forget about the family it was Penny but not for the reasons you think".

Tori checked her phone, Crap she was six minutes late.

"Come on we need to get to Scotland Yard" Sherlock turned to Tori but he couldn't find her anywhere. His phone buzzed in his hand.

Do it on your own I'm busy.

TL

He scowled and made his way towards the main road and hailed a cab.

_A.N_

_Thought I may describe a little more about Tori. She is not a sociopath, or not as much as Sherlock anyway. I think if someone were to ask her she'd reply "No, just a teenager with sociopathic tendencies'. Not that she's real, it's just if she was, that's what I think she'd say._

_I also wanted to point out John's relationship to her, he tends to steer her away from things he thinks are 'inappropriate' for a girl her age. Like he sometimes does with Sherlock. _

_Something I think some writers, naming no names, forget when writing him. He is the link between Sherlock and the real world and tries his hardest to lessen the gap. Or so I think, you may be reading this and screaming 'shut up you banana!' Unless you don't use fruit as insults like me. _

_Also I wanted to introduce one of her main character traits, her agile ability. I wanted her 'thing' to be running and climbing, kind of like those street runners I've heard about. _

_Love Rosie_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight

Tori stretched out on the sofa while Amy sat by her feet. It had been a week since she had seen Sherlock and she was bored.

"Tori!" Amy cried as Kyle changed the channel of the home's cruddy TV.

"Change it back" She said in a low voice, not moving her eyes from the dull scenery outside the window.

Kyle looked as though he was going to argue but reluctantly changed it back to the cartoon it was previously on.

"Tori" Stacey, a cute but sometimes annoying nine year old asked. "Deck says that you don't clean for the old lady. Yu figh ba-d murrrers"

"What" Tori laughed, finally sitting up. "Take you thumb out of your mouth"

"He said, you fight bad murders" she shouted.

"Well Deck doesn't know anything" This seemed to satisfy her and the little girl skipped off. Tori turned her attention to the window, staring at a speck of dirt.

"TORI!" Abby's frantic voice called from the hallway.

She got up and trudged towards out of the TV room. "What is it?"

"You have a letter" the care worker turned from where she was shouting up the stairs, looking slightly surprised, handed the letter over to her and walked to the office.

"A secret admirer perhaps?" Tim, the trainee care worker, asked as he came out of the kitchen, his face and apron sprinkled with flour.

"Don't be stupid" she scowled.

_Stationary-watercolour, like the ones you get for cards, right size and thickness._

Carefully she opened the envelope and pulled the letter out.

_Off white paper, soft, well made. _

In typed writing it said.

Don't be boring.

The game is on.

She looked up at Tim who was watching with a smirk on his face. "Am I allowed to go out?" Abby grounded for a week after she returned home late.

"Sure" his smile broadened "To meet mystery man I hope".

"Oh give over" she started towards the door.

"Well you are staying out late, coming home in fancy dresses and receiving love notes"

Tori rolled her eyes; it was amusing when normal people tried to deduce things. Their answers where always ridiculous.

She ran down the street till she reached 221 Baker Street.

"Hi Mrs Hudson!" She yelled brightly as she sped pasted the ageing woman.

"Hello dear, doors open…" but Tori was already half way up the stairs.

"Good morning Tori" Sherlock was in his pyjamas and dressing gown. Great she'd got him on a bad day.

"Afternoon actually" she turned to find John standing in the kitchen trying to make tea and not knock over one of Sherlock's experiments and have the whole building filled with dangerous gas.

"So what is so important that you had to run here to tell me?" She pouted, she hated it when he was right. "Your breathing is erratic, clothes rumpled and your eyes are larger than usual. Simple"

"I got this in the mail" She handed the letter over to him. "Water colour paper, I thought an artist…"

"Forget it" he interrupted, his face changed to one of worry but only for a second.

"What?" Her mouth opened to form a little 'o'.

"It's pointless" he threw the paper on the table.

"I can't believe you, since Mike's case you've had nothing!"

"What's wrong now" John asked, acting as the role of peace keeper.

"Him" She pointed her finger at Sherlock.

He gave John the letter and upon reading it the doctor's face lost all its colour. "Maybe Sherlock's right about this"

"Why?" she fought against the will to stamp her feet but her mouth pouted of its own accord.

"It's not important" John limped to the stairs, his wound playing up again.

"Why are you keeping a secret from me" Her voice was void of any emotion.

"Because it's too dangerous for you if you get involved" John carried on walking until it was just her and Sherlock.

"Is that what you think? For Christ's sake I once had to carry you along three streets at midnight because you had passed out from the nine nicotine patches you had on. And we were being chased by a psychotic gym teacher" She rolled her eyes.

"Like I said, not important," He got up and walked into the kitchen. "Lestrade has a much more interesting case for us. A new drug has been found and is producing some interesting results".

"And by interesting results…" She followed him to see him empty a bag of pills onto the counter.

"After six minutes, unconscious. After ten, death" He took one of the white pills and placed them in a glass of water (although it being one of Sherlock's experiments it could be anything).

"Not what most ravers are looking for, what do you need me to do?" She picked up one of the pills and held it up to the light before he pulled it away from her quickly.

"Don't touch them with your bare hands; get me the papers from my desk". He went back to looking at the drugs as she went to gather the case files.

"Did you say 'ravers'?" Sherlock asked a look of confusion clouded his face.

"Yes" Tori smiled handing him the files. "Is that meant to be bubbling?" she pointed one of her small fingers to the clear liquid in a glass beaker.

"Well yes and no" he added a drop from a seemingly random test tube, it stopped bubbling but changed to a sea green colour. "I need to see this in the lab" he picked up the bag of pills, his coat and scarf and swept out of the apartment.

Tori pretended to think about it but ran after him as he knew she would.

_A.N_

_This chapter goes back to the plot more, but with a bit of added 'Tori with toddlers' to satisfy my Fluff monster, who insists every story I write is a little bit cuter than they should be. _

_So, can you guess who sent the letter? If not you either, haven't seen 'the Great Game' or should forget this story, this fandom, and the entire Sherlock Empire. Good bye_

_Love Rosie_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine

Tori was awake in bed, eyes transfixed on the spider's web in the corner of the celling when the explosion happened.

She was shot out of bed by the force of the bomb, landing face down on the floorboards, the left side of her face hitting the metal leg of her table.

Slowly standing up, ignoring the blood rushing to her head, she sprinted to the hall way.

No one was awake, it was like a horror film just her alone. Grabbing a book she smashed the fire alarm and made her way to the nearest bedroom.

"Wake up!" she screamed pulling the drowsy kid out of bed. "Come on!"

"What's happening?" the grumbling kid asked.

"FIRE!" she screamed again trying to wake the other residents up.

"Tori!" Abby called from the hall, pulling the sleepy boy with her, "Get everyone outside I'll go upstairs". The head carer was standing in the hall way surrounded by kids dressed in pyjamas.

"Come on guys, follow me!" she grabbed the younger ones hands and forced the group towards the stairs.

"What's happening?" Stacey asked burrowing her head in Tori's side.

"Big fire" her lungs gasped for air as they ran down the to the bottom floor.

It was badly hit, the windows had been smashed and glass was scattered on the floor. "Careful with your feet, step as far away from the glass as possible"

They finally reached the door and ran onto the street. Policemen and the residents of other houses were standing on the street.

"Help!" she gasped pulling the group of children with her towards the crowd.

"It's okay we've got them" Someone from the ambulance told her as she collapsed onto the ground.

The smaller kids wouldn't let go of her as the paramedics tried to check for damage so they just left them there waiting for the rest of the residents. Tori down right refused to be examined, actually growling when one doctor tried to put a shock blanket around her.

Several minutes later Abby came out with the other kids. "Are you all ok?" she gushed pulling them all into a big hug.

"Yeah we're fine" Tori said making her way towards her. "Just a little shaken up"

Abby started to count the kids around her worry clear on her face.

"What is it?"

"We're missing one of the kids"

Tori looked around franticly. When realisation hit her face lost all colour . "Where's Amy?"

_A.N _

_Missed my short chapters?_

_I didn't. Well this one needed to be short, I won't lie to you. But on the plus the next chapter will be up shortly, like this after noon (UK time), hopefully, if I'm not too over done with school revision. Sorry I didnt post yesterday when I meant to, anyone who's doing their last year in GCSE's will understand. Especially if they also have no clue what they're doing for their Art exam._

_Love Rosie_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter ten

She didn't waste any time panicking, that would be no help. Instead running back to the house, past the paramedic's team and police officers who were standing near bye.

Ignoring the protests she heard from behind her, Tori raced through the burnt front door.

She barely noticed the pain in her feet from the shards of glass on the ground. The fire had mostly been put out but there was still the chance of the firemen missing something. Jumping up the stairs, two steps at a time, she made her way to the younger girl's dorm.

"Amy!" she called, her voice a fraction higher than usual. "Amy, are you in there?"

Bursting through the door she finally stopped, looking round the room. There was no one there, fear crept up on her and she felt her heart stop beating.

"Tori?" Relief swept over her as she heard Amy's little, if slightly rough, voice near the window. Looking over she saw a pile clothes shaking slightly.

"Amy is that you?" she cried, already scooping the bundle in her arms. Pulling away the layers of fabric to reveal a shivering Amy. She wasn't badly hurt, probably a few scratches but most likely in shock. Pulling her close to her chest, Tori whispered "Everything's okay"

"Tori there are some visitors to see you" the kind nurse Laura popped her head round the door, smiling sweetly. It changed to a frown though when she saw what Tori was doing. "Get back in your bed at once".

Sighing, a little too dramatically, she climbed down from where she was sitting on the window, watching out over the late evening sunset, sill and made her way to the hospital bed. "Dr Knowles says you need to keep off your feet to let them heal" Tori scowled looking down at her comically bandaged feet.

The glass had imbedded itself quite deep and the burns to her legs and arms would take a while to heal. Add that to the cuts on her shoulder and bruised left eye, well safe to say she looked a mess.

"Laura, I've been in this bed for years, centuries!" For a girl who got a kick out of running away from criminals, two weeks if bed rest in hospital was the equivalent of a life imprisonment.

"Calm down it's for your own good" the nurse bustled around scowling at the uneaten tray of food on the side table. "Now behave or I won't let you see your visitors". She waggled her index finger mockingly.

Tori pouted and watched the door for whoever the visitors were. She hadn't had that many people coming to see her. Abby visited her and the other two kids who were in hospital every day with updates on what was happening (the house was in too much of a bad a shape to live in so everyone had been moved into new homes for the time being). John visited when he had the time, mostly they talked about the new case's Sherlock was on. Once he even brought Mrs Hudson who had told her she was lucky to be alive, much to her embarrassment. And there'd been a rather boring visit from her social worker to tell her she'd be moved to her old home once she was let out of hospital.

She smiled when she saw John gingerly opening the door to her room. "Hi" he waved awkwardly, like always, and came to sat at the chair by her bed.

"Where is he?" She asked, trying to get comfortable.

"Outside" he jerked his thumb in the direction of the door. "I don't think he likes hospitals"

"Sherlock!" she called, waiting for him to enter.

He swept in, looking straight faced as usual, sitting down in the chair next to John. "How are you?" the doctor asked picking up her chart and looking over the scrawled short hand.

"Bored" she moaned letting her head loll to the side.

"Of course she is" John muttered under his breath.

Sherlock still hadn't said anything, just watched her with interest.

"So. Any new leads on the case?" she asked staring at Sherlock.

"No but the Dad…" John started but was cut off.

"The Brother killed him then framed the wife" Sherlock said coldly, returning Tori's stare, not blinking.

"You sure?" she asked, she knew it irritated him when someone questioned him, still staring.

"Of course".

Brilliant, John thought, they were now in a staring contest.

"Really" she began, still not breaking eye contact. "Because you might have forgotten one tiny detail…"

"I haven't"

"You never know, could just be one thing that proves you right or wrong" her voice had a teasing lift at the end.

"I'm right" he said coldly, but she could see the tiny hint of doubt in his mind.

"Really?"

"Of course!" She could sense the frustration building up inside him.

"Really?" she didn't even bother to hide the smile creeping at her lips.

Before Sherlock could retort John spoke. "Right, that's enough now children" he said it a mocking teacher sort of way, but they still stopped arguing. "Just give her the case you brought"

Tori noticed the brown folder in his hands. "John thought it might keep you occupied for the time being"

She smiled at John briefly then hastily began reading the file.

Both the men saw the change in her demeanour; it was hard to miss the smile that reached from ear to ear.

"If I can solve it by tomorrow will you give me a new one?" She asked, already rifling through the pictures, holding one of them to the light.

"Tomorrow? It took him three days"

Sherlock snorted and glared at his friend. "Actually it was two days and a half"

John rolled his eyes and mouthed _three days_.

"So what? I could defiantly solve it faster than him"

"If you do I'll give you a more recent case" Sherlock laid his leather gloves on the table and Tori could not help but think of medieval times when the knight would though down their gauntlet when they wanted to fight another knight.

"Deal" she fought the urge to pick them up and began reading the witness statements.

_A.N_

_This chapter was a bit strange if you ask me, I wanted the start to be in its own chapter but I couldn't stretch it out enough so this is it. I recently twisted my ankle and was forced a day's bed rest so have a lot of empathy for Tori at this time. Not that I don't feel bad for her the rest of the time, but…Oh what was I talking about before you got the wrong end of the stick?...Oh right the story! _

_Anyway, the next few chapters will be a lot darker, or as dark as I can be. Which will not be that bad, no need to bring a torch, or flash light if that's what you call it._

_Love Rosie_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter eleven

They sat and talked for a few more minutes before Laura told them Tori needed some rest, ignoring her yells of protest. She put away the file, and got out her phone instead. The case itself was quite simple with all the evidence already found and documented, a bit like the old detective novels her social worker used to give her at Christmas.

Her phone was several years old, kept for the sole reason that it had excellent signal. A sleek black touch model to begin with, but had picked up several bumps and scars over the years.

Going through her inbox she found two messages from Clara, a sort of friend from school, calling to ask what happened.

"Hi, it's me Clara!" her bubbly, high pitched voice came out of the speakers.

"Hey, it's Tori" She replied. Sometimes she wondered why they were even friends, most likely that they were both outsiders, Tori for her dark mind and Clara for her dim but sweet disposition.

"Oh my god! Where have you been? I've been so worried-"

"Clar…"

"I come home one day and on the news it says the children's home blew up!"

"Yeah I know! Sorry I haven't called you yet, I've been in hospital and-"

"What! Oh no! What's happened?"

"I was about to tell you. I got pretty badly hurt by the explosion and have to stay in hospital for a bit. A couple of burns, a few scratches, some bruises, not really that interesting"

"But that's awful-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look Carla"

"Hm?"

"Listen carefully, I need you to get something for me"

"What?"

"Can you try and bring your laptop in for me? I need to do some… homework" it was a bad excuse, she wasn't even going back to school after the summer. But there may be the tiniest chance Carla would believe it.

"Oh that English report Mr Simmonds set? Yeah, sure I can bring it. Hey, when you've finished can I have a look over yours? Mine could really use the help."

"Huh? Whatever, come as soon as you can. I'm going insane with boredom"

"Kay. See you soo-" Tori cut off the line before she could finish as Laura came marching back in, holding the little plastic cup of pain killers.

Slipping the phone back in her bag as the nurse turned to shut the door, she sat up, wincing from the stabs of pain shooting through her limbs.

"The doctors are prescribing you a new pill, you're to take it twice a day, everyday mind. Even if the pain isn't bad, for two months" she sat the cup down on Tori's bedside table.

"Yippee!" She smiled sarcastically "More pills!"

"I know dear. It's not fair, but soon you'll be out and back home"

"Back to Dartmoor" She scowled at the name tumbling out of her lips.

"Bad was it?" Laura had been briefed about her past from the other nurses.

"Hmm, being beaten up, all your stuff getting nicked and the care workers locking you in at night because they think you're gonna run away?" she added the inflection at the end. "Oh it was a ball!"

"Well maybe it'll have changed" she slapped the end of the younger girl's bed and turned to leave.

As she was about to leave the nurse stopped trying to remember something.

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention. You may feel a little drowsy, at the worst black out. They take a while getting used to, but that'll pass before you go home. Night"

Tori looked to the window to find that the sun had just disappeared and the sky was dark indigo, the crescent moon half hidden by clouds.

"Night" she called back, switching off the bed side lamp.

_A.N_

_Okay, so not as dark as I suggested, sorry if I mislead you. I got confused with the chapters, there was a mistake involving two chapter fours. But I know the next chapter is darker._

_Love Rosie _


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter twelve

_Oh god, I think my heads splitting in two!_

Tori tried to open her eyes but found they were stuck tight. In a sleep induced daze, she rubbed at her lids until they blinked apart.

The white early morning light shot into her irises, nearly blinding her.

Covering them with her hand, she slowly sat up in the bed, stubbornly ignoring the shooting pains in limbs.

She pulled up the sleeve of her pyjama arm to check up on her burns, they were the same, redish pink bumps making their way to the worst area. A large ashen black spot sitting just below her shoulder, to the right of her collar bone.

The bedside clock beeped, informing her it was only four o clock. Groaning she slid back down in the sheets, debating the time old question whether she should go back to sleep or stay up until morning.

Apparently that decision was already made for her. As soon as her head reached the pillow she fell back to sleep.

The room door opened slowly, a skinny man in doctor's dress silently crept towards her. His feet made no sound as he made his way across the room, his face blank of emotion except from the slight quirk at the side of his thin mouth.

Reaching inside his shirt pocket, he pulled out a folded piece of paper. With the other hand he gently pulled at the thin cotton blanket so it fell down, revealing her torso.

He admired her little form for a moment, knees curled up to her chin, then stepped back to slip the paper into her case file.

He stepped back, the smile on his lips growing, but still not quite reaching his eyes.

As he turned, his tall shadow past the bed, covering her face in darkness.

* * *

><p>"Tori?" John whispered, poking his head round the curtain. The nurse's had informed him she was taking some new medication and would be a little drowsy.<p>

She was cradled in her bed, knees brought up to her chin, rocking backwards and forwards. Fists clenched in the thin bed sheets.

"Do you need me to call the nurse?" Slowly, he paced towards her, reaching out a hand to comfort her.

She snapped her head up before he came in contact with skin. "John?"

As her dark hair fell away from her face, he rocked back at her startling appearance. Her eyes were clouded over and darker than usual, skin a ghastly pale, pulled over her cheekbones a little too much.

"Tori, are you okay?" his voice was barley a whisper this time. Crouching down so he was at her eye level.

"Why are you here?" she croaked, her lips dry and wrinkled.

"You asked me, remember?" He pulled up one of her small hands and found it cold to the touch.

She snapped back, creating as much distance between them as possible without falling off the hospital bed.

"N-no…" She stuttered, eyes closed tightly together. "Maybe…I don't remember…" Finally deciding on an answer, she looked at him, pupils unfocused. "Yes, I mean yes. I do, you and Sherlock came yesterday"

He gave a sigh of relief and relaxed in the chair. "So…Did you finish the case" It seemed a safe enough subject.

"Yeah, the brother killed him, then left it on the train carriage so in the morning the body would be carried along with the train and no one could trace it back to him" her face had returned to its usual, but still pale, completion and her pupils had that electric spark back.

"You really are brilliant, you know that" he grinned at her, one part confusion one part amazement.

"Oh shut up!" she laughed as they broke into mindless chatter.

John's smile remained plastered to his face as his mind went into over drive. How could someone go from depressed to joking about hospital food in minutes. Well he could think of one reason but it seemed quite drastic, best observe for the moment.

_A.N_

_I promised dark, hope it suffices. Can you guess who the skinny guy was? _

_If not I won't reveal it to you, but, seriously, you must have guessed. _

_Sorry, that was a bit of reader-bashing. I don't hate you, I love you. Really, I do._

_Now these chapters are becoming shorter to accommodate more suspense, so as usual I'll try to upload quicker to make up for lack of words. I have this thing which makes me go back over chapters and change things about them so, they do take longer than I imagine when publishing. _

_Love Rosie_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen 

"Excuse me, Kelly?" The receptionist looked up from her glossy magazine to smile at the short, blonde man in front of the desk.

"Hello Dr Watson" He'd been in every day for the last couple of weeks and they'd talked every so often.

"How is she?" He nodded to the closed curtain, resting his against the reception desk.

"Better than yesterday, not as good as the day before. Slept almost the whole night through" She smiled hopefully, the whole staff had become fond of the damaged little girl.

"And the Doctors still have no idea?"

"None so far"

"And you don't think it could be…" he edged closer to what he was trying to say.

"She isn't showing serious symptoms of Bi Polar disorder"

"But her sleep-"

"Although it's low, her sleep patterns haven't differed from what they were. She's been through a lot, it may just be a coping mechanism. A lot of people go through a dark period after experiences like this. Her psychiatrist says she's getting better, thinking more clearly"

"Well, I guess that's good" John sighed. "Is it okay if I go see her?"

"Sure. You could take her down to the gardens" She smiled, handing him a visitor's pass.

"Tori?" He called, pulling back the thin curtain.

She turned from where she was looking out of the window, a weak smile across her face.

"John, hello" She wrapped her thin dressing gown closer, covering a surprisingly childish, spoty nightie.

"Get dressed, we're going out" He threw a pair of convers on the bed, going to the bedside cabinet to collect some clothes.

"Where?" she asked, her voice coming out close to a whimper.

He stopped, trying to figure out if the piece of cloth he was holding was a bag or a scarf.

"It's a hoodie" She grabbed it from him, pulling off the nightie, thankfully a white vest top underneath, and replacing it with the item. Now, looking at it fully, he could see it was a grey sleeveless hooded top, one he'd seen her wearing a couple of times.

She pulled on a pair of leggings and the shoes before following him out of the room.

"Happy?" John asked as they made their way to sit on one of the benches.

Tori smiled, the sun lighting up her face making the usually harsh lines soften and the grey of her irises sparkle with specks of blue. It made her seem younger, a trait that not a lot of people got to see and it gave him a swell of pride to learn he was one of the precious few.

"It feels like ages since I've been outside" she slipped off her shoes, letting the grass slip through her toes.

"Pretty soon you'll be out every day" It was meant to be light-hearted but her shoulders tensed and the hand, that had been resting on the bench's arm, clutched at the wood. The sky suddenly changed to cloudy, sending a grey light everywhere.

"Sorry" he reached over to comfort her but she shied away.

Instead she asked the question John had been dreading all week. "Where's Sherlock?"

Truth be told, he had no answer. Every time he mentioned visiting the hospital together, his flatmate would give a non-committal answer or simply ignore him. His sole interest was in finding Moriarty, just like the time before. Everyone around him was worried, he never ate, hardly slept, just spent his time chasing up leads, that always lead to dead ends, or going through the case reports. John, often found himself slipping Tori into conversations, even if only to remind Sherlock she existed.

"He's busy, on a case" It was partially right, even if what he was doing was not classified as that in the police handbook.

"Oh" it was a strange reaction, by now she would have caught that he wasn't telling the whole truth and forced it out of him.

"He's been very busy lately"

She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by an electronic buzz. John patted down his jacket until he found his phone in the breast pocket.

"It's him" he made to get up, but stopped at a thought "You don't mind, do you?"

She shook her head, managing to relax into the wooden back of the bench. "Go ahead, I'm enjoying just being outside" The sun was back again, apparently as changeable as her, resuming its job of illuminating her features.

He gave her a smile before walking a little way round to the fish pond, close enough to keep Tori insight but far enough that she couldn't listen in.

"Sherlock, what is it?" he kept his voice to a quiet yell, glancing round nervously at the other patients, plus their visitors, who were also enjoying the hospital's park.

"Is Tori with you?" He asked, his voice an octave higher than usual.

"Yeah, she can't hear me, but yeah. Why?"

"I'm not sure" Okay, now this was serious, John thought, Sherlock never admitted when he was wrong. "But just keep an eye on her"

"Why? Sherlock, why don't you come and look after her for a change" he dropped the irritated tone to plead, "She needs you"

"Sorry, yesterday you were spurting how it was my fault, now apparently she needs me? Please save your mediocre psychiatry for someone else"

Although his flatmate was probably on the other side of London, John could almost feel the scowl on his friend's face.

"I know what I said. But Tori doesn't see it like that. What she sees is you abandoning her when she needs help. For God's sake Sherlock! She's practically having a breakdown and you're not here. I know you don't care about it, but please, for once in your life, be considerate of how a scared and hurt little girl feels in all of this"

Once his little speech was over John let out a sigh, hopefully this would be the motivation his friend needed.

"John where's Tori?"

This new question made him raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Sherlock, did you listen to a single word I just said?"

"Yes, yes. You want me to show more compassion. Now is Tori still with you?"

"Of course-" he turned expecting to see the little girl sitting on the bench, same position as when he'd left, but instead was a sight that chilled him to the bone.

"No"

"John?"

Realising his voice was nothing but a whisper, he cleared his throat and tried again.

"No, she's not here. She's gone and someone's taken her"

_A.N_

_So this was a long one, I'm quite proud of this one, my fluffy monster has gone on a little holiday to other fandom's and left this one alone. _

_I hinted at Tori being Bi-polar in the beginning, but decided against it so as not to complicate the plot. My knowledge in this is sparse information, collected from the internet and hope not to offend anyone who has it._

_Also for a little brain workout, I purposely missed out a word describing Sherlock and Tori in the whole story, if you get it I'll send you a metaphorical biscuit. Here's a hint, it's not sociopath. _

_I also added a bit-o comforting John, because seriously, damaged little girl, course he's gonna want to care for her. _

_Next time, we find out what's happened to Tori, I must warn you it will NOT be a big stand-off cliff-hanger. _

_I do not like those. I'm looking at you Moffatt and Gatiss. _

_Love Rosie_

_P.S. Thanks so much to all the people who've reviewed,favourited or just read the story, the support really helps._


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter fourteen

"Urgh!"

Tori groaned.

Pain shooting in all directions all over her body as she stretched out her back.

She tried to reach round to soothe the joints, but found her wrists, were bound in front of her by rough thick rope.

Struggling with the bonds, she sat upright, legs thankfully still free. As her eyes focused again, she surveyed her surroundings. It was a dimly lit warehouse, most likely the docks, due to the strong smell of fish and sea salt.

Under her legs was a thread bare rug, barely keeping the cold of the floor seeping through.

Even though it was dark, she could see a stream of light filtering through a gap in the wall. So she hadn't been that long since she had…well whatever did happen. Her mind was a little unfocused, the last thing she remembered was sitting on the bench in the park talking to…

Someone.

It was defiantly someone.

She moved backwards to rest against the stonewall, her ribs beginning to ache. Bringing her left hand up to her forehead, she tried to massage out the roaring head ache. Fingertips were met with a sticky substance, like drying paint.

In the low light she could see the dark stain of blood staining the pink skin on her hands.

So, her head was bleeding, or had been bleeding, that was too hard to say. Her limbs were aching, she hadn't had pain killers since the morning, and had been kidnapped.

Not an ideal situation, but not unworkable.

Slowly, she began sketching a loose plan in her mind, the details would be filled in later.

Sherlock clicked of his phone, turning to John. "Lestrade has sent his officers to the hospital. Idiots!"

"So this is Moriarty?" His flatmate asked.

"Obviously"

"So why aren't you at the hospital, looking for answers?"

"Because I received this" he threw an envelope, seemingly from no-where, down onto the kitchen table, and began pacing through the flat.

John opened the letter, eyes widening as he skipped through it.

"Is it real, I mean Moriarty could have faked it?"

"No, I checked with the database, his results are the same as mine"

"Wait! You did this too?"

"Of course, I had my suspicions after we visited Tori in hospital. So, I called in a favour with an old acquaintance"

"And you do know what this means, don't you?"

John waited, eyes searching for his flatmate's last thread of humanity.

"It is all the more important that we find her, by any means"

And with that the pacing increased in pace, less in control as normal. A nasty bruise would appear the soon from where his foot collided with the coffee table.

After several hours, most spent lying on the couch, John's open laptop blinked from the desk. Lestrade, who had arrived earlier, rushed forward, only to be pushed back by Sherlock.

"It has to be me" He clicked the video link, opening up to full screen.

The feed was of a warehouse, dark and dingy. And there in the middle, arms wrapped round her frame defensively, was Tori.

The two older men simultaneously took in a breath. She was never that…afraid in person.

"Tori!" Sherlock yelled into the image, as she shivered from the cold.

"Oh, please" A cold voice rang out through the speakers. "She can't hear you. Think I'd make it that easy? Look Sherlock, as you're in a bit of an intellectual rut, I'll keep this simple. Answer these, for lack of a better word, questions, and maybe I'll let the girl live. Only if you're quick enough, mind"

And with that an electronic click sounded, ending the voice over, as the video continued.

"That sick bastard!" John pounded at the couch with his foot.

"John, be quiet"

The screen flashed, the new message icon glowing at them with a hateful cheeriness.

_What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?_

"So what is it?" Lestrade asked, running a hand through his speckled grey hair.

"The letter M" Sherlock replied calmly, repeating it clearly into the computer's voice microphone.

The three men waited slowly as the static crackled and Moriarty replied. "Correct, but then I wasn't making it very tricky. Next one's a little more…Intriguing".

_A.N_

_Okay calm down, I know I could have left it at a better place, but this is what you're getting for now. Next chapter will be up very soon, the end is nearly finished. Only a few more chapters to go, with an interesting epilogue that I may put up. Depends if I feel different in a few days._

_Love Rosie_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter fifteen

It was late, dark, the evening. Tori's mind had been so focused on creating a plan of escape, she'd lost track of time. Unfortunately, the plan had one ginormous flaw.

There was no exit in the room. At all.

It was as though the room had been built around her. Each wall was smooth and worn, no fake doors or covered windows.

At least she'd managed to untie the ropes previously binding her arms. The pulled her arms tighter round herself, the skin on her shoulders bubbling up from the cold.

Earlier, she'd tried to wrap the rug round her but it was stuck to the floor and prizing it up would have wasted her limited energy.

So instead she pulled her legs up and crawled into a ball, letting her own body heat warm her.

It's getting worse, the stuff in her head. Before it was just feelings, dark or hate filled thoughts. But now there's harsh scathing voices screeching into her ears.

And the more she tried to block them out, the more they screamed, pushed, fought back.

_They're not coming_

"Shut up!" she covered her ears with her hands.

_They don't care, not about you_

"That's not true!"

_Why would they care? You're just the girl no one wants; your own mother never wanted you. It's a wonder John and Sherlock have put up with you for so long._

She began weeping, uncontrollable sobs that shook her body in violent quakes.

_They're not coming, and you'll be here all alone!_

"Shut up!" She screamed in between tears.

_All alone!_

"Stop! Please, stop!"

_No wonder they're not saving you. Look at yourself! Crying like a baby! _

_If you were stronger, maybe they'd be here. But no, you were pathetic. Clinging on like a limpet. _

"No! I…I was st-trong!"

_Then why did you let yourself be caught like that. It's no one's fault but yours._

The sobs had become howls, animalistic and painful. They carried on until she fell into a deep sleep.

John felt the tears prick at his eyes, for the third time in as many hours. The video had been on for a few minutes, to torture them.

Tori was curled up in on herself, screaming for something to stop. She didn't look physically hurt, but who knew what Moriarty could have done.

Sherlock picked at a loose thread on the sofa thoughtfully. The last riddle was half an hour ago, every minuet was killing him.

He heard another hoarse scream emanating from the laptop.

A few seconds later, the fourth, no fifth, since the video re started.

"Sherlock!" his flatmate called, pushing the computer into his hands.

The mail icon was back, flashing brightly for the second time.

_Before it was simply a riddle, now it's something a little different._

_What's Tori's favourite book?_

"God! How are we meant to know that?" Lestrade fell down onto the desk chair, head in his hands.

Sherlock raked a hand through his hair, searching through the files in his mind for an answer.

Going through every question, every answer and every word Tori had spoken to him.

They rarely talked about interests, both found it unimportant. The closest either of them had got was a conversation where she'd revealed a secret fondness of Jeremy Kyle.

There. At the back of his brain was a case that had brought him to a book shop. She'd lingered on the crime series. Second shelf. Classic mysteries. Agatha Christie.

"Murder on the orient express" He called, his voice clear and loud, causing the two other men to jump.

The next few minutes were spent in silence, the air tense and thick with apprehension.

"Well done!" Moriarty's voice was joyous and light but none of the men could ignore the underlying fury. "One more, question" He once again paused before question.

"Then _this_ ends, either you get her…Or I do"

"Touch her and I swear, I will hunt you down and make you pay for everything you've done"

Sherlock barely moved, his face a blank mask.

"Little too late!" the maniac laughed airily, sending a shiver up John and Lestrade's spines, before clicking the feed off.

_A.N._

_So a breakdown from Tori, did we like?_

_Or were you, like I, sick of the almost identical layout of the two chapters._

_Next chapter's last one…or next to last…hopefully._

_Love Rosie_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The last question. The three men were waiting and dreading it in equal measures. The tea Mrs Hudson had brought lay cold and untouched.

"How much longer?" John asked, to no body in particular, for the third time.

He was met by a nervous glance from Lestrade.

It was tiring them all out, anyone could see it. Donavon, who'd dropped by with a change of clothing for the D.I, had been the most upfront. Stating she was sorry about Tori, but they needed to sleep.

An electronic buzz sounded, sharp and clear, causing the men to jump forward for the computer.

_Last question of the night, it's not a tricky one but it's important all the same_

_Who is Tori's mother?_

"God" John fell back into his arm chair, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"He had to do it" Lestrade murmured. "Sherlock, you're going to have to, it's the only way"

The detective had said nothing throughout, the aftermath of answering running through his brain.

If he did this, Moriarty would find some way to reveal it to Tori.

Then nothing would be right, everything would be just wrong between them. She would never forgive him.

But if he didn't she would die, seize to exist. At least if she hated him she'd be safe.

Leaning forward he spoke clearly into microphone.

"Irene Adler"

The video feed started again, showing Tori sleeping restlessly.

They waited, each holding their breath, until the static crackled.

"Well done, for a moment I thought you weren't going to answer. Very well, you can collect her. West Drumlins Docks, warehouse 601, take longer than an hour and…well you can imagine.

Goodbye Sherlock, it's been fun"

The feed had barely cut off before they bolted from the flat.

* * *

><p>"Check every building, double check. I don't care how long it takes" Lestrade instructed the hundreds of police officers surrounding him. Almost the whole of the Yard had been called out to search for her, little of them knew why they were searching for a teenage girl, only a fair few having actually met her.<p>

"We will find her" John murmured reassurance to Sherlock and himself.

The crowd dispersed, spidering out into the two am darkness of the docks.

"It's taking too long" The detective moaned, running a hand through his hair again, something that he was doing more and more these days.

Eyes roaming round him, he noticed no one heading in the direction of the warehouse on the hill.

"Quick John!" he called, already speeding along the dark path, ignoring the scrapes he got from the tree branches reaching out to see him.

"Sherlock, wait! You don't know what's in there" his friend called, chasing after him, pulling his trusty gun out of his coat pocket.

* * *

><p><em>All alone<em>

The voices taunted, screeching like harpies.

_All alone because no one wants a pointless waste of space. A stupid little girl who no one could ever love._

"Shut up!" she screamed back, shut eyes squinting. "Stop it! Stop it!"

They began singing a crude sing song, like a cruel children's birthday rhyme.

_All alone! All alone!_

_Nobody wants her and nowhere to go!_

"Stop it!"

She kicked at the floor, flinging her fists at the wall, ignoring the pain that attacked her nerves.

"Tori?" the voice was new, and for a second she wondered if it was someone real but there had been a lot of new voices in her head and this could just be another of them. All though this was low and more masculine than the others.

"GO AWAY!" Her throat was dry from crying and the words were achingly forced.

As she fought wildly on the floor a pair of strong arms wrapped round her flailing limbs and lifted her up.

"Tori!" the voice was closer, calling into her ear, lifting her dark hair off her fore head.

A cool hand rubbed at her temples, easing the drilling pain in her brain for a moment.

She struggled, scratching at whatever she could reach with her little fingernails, until a hand wrapped round her arms, effectively handcuffing her.

"Shh" The voice was softer, comforting, and she felt leather covered finger tips stroking her palm.

Whoever was carrying her began to move, not letting her weight discourage his fast strides.

Her eyes wet with tears, she slowly opened her lids. Pupils met with a surprisingly warm darkness.

There was something familiar about the smell wrapping itself round her. Like fresh herbs and spicy wood smoke but at the same time the sharp aroma of hospital hand sanitizer and medical cleanliness.

She wrinkled her nose to try and capture the sent but was met with a soft plush fabric brushing against her skin.

It had the same comforting smell about it, muskier than the first. Moving her head, the material moved, letting a little more light stream over her eyes. It was blue, dark navy and even more familiar than the smell. The walking stopped as she heard the metallic screech of a door opening.

The cool wind hit her harsh and she turned into the heat subconsciously.

"Sherlock!" A new male voice called, faint in the distance.

"It's okay, I've got her!" She looked up, focusing on the pale defined jaw and dark curly hair.

"Sherlock?" her voice was so little and weak, it was as though a third party had spoken at the same time as she.

"It's all right, I'm here" He smiled down at her, blue eyes filled with emotion.

* * *

><p>He didn't let her go, not when John, Lestrade and all the other policemen came running to greet them.<p>

Didn't put her down as paramedics swarmed round like wasps, checking her wounds and pulse.

He held her in his arms until they were in the ambulance, on their way to the hospital.

"Tori" he shook her arm, bringing her out of the daze she was slipping back into. "You have to stay awake"

She blinked, the IV and bandages restricting her arm movements as she reached over to him.

"Hey, don't strain yourself" as he put her limb back in place she grasped at his hand, small fingers wrapped around his own.

"Sherlock I'm scared" the words came out in barely more than a whisper, filled with dread.

"It's okay, you're safe now, no one will hurt you" he lifted his free hand to stroke her forehead.

"I've been hearing things…voices. Telling me stuff" she was shaking again, not violently but enough for Sherlock to demand the nurse administered more paramedics.

"And what were they saying?"

"That I was alone, you weren't coming to rescue me. No one wanted me" her eyes began to gloss over with tears. "And they don't, do they?"

"Of course they do" he swallowed, "I do"

"My own mother didn't want me" She repeated, the tears made her grey eyes even darker.

"I'm sure if your parents could see you now they'd be astounded" he whispered softly into her ear. "They couldn't be more proud"

"What?" She mumbled, turning her head to get a better look at him. Her pupils were a little unfocused, her mouth in a relaxed pout.

"Well who wouldn't be, you're so much more than your parents deserve" he pulled his hand away to stroke her forehead.

"Remember the first time I met you?" dark curls nodded. "Even then I knew you were special, so strong and yet so little"

"Hey!" her protest was worryingly raspy. "I don't like it when you call me little"

He chuckled, his fingertips dancing across her temples. "I don't care, you're my little girl"

"And you're my best friend" She muttered, eyes flickering closed. Her breathing regulated and she fell into a light sleep.

He continued to gently stroke her forehead, a weak smile on his face.

_A.N _

_It's the end! Thanks so much for everyone who read!_

_So, did you like? I'm not quite sure about the ending, it seems unfinished. Though I can't think of what else to put. Although I am pleased with how she was rescued. _

_No, Tori doesn't find out who her parents are. It's either that I think it'll be too close to the other Sherlock father fic's I've read, or I'm too lazy to bother writing the reveal. Your choice._

_I'm still a bit iffy on whether to post the next chapter; it's short, Tori isn't actually present for half of it, focusing on Sherlock revealing her to Irene. _

_Love Rosie._


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter seventeen 

The bell on the front door rang as someone entered the coffee shop. A seemingly normal noise that was received with a surprising reaction.

The few customers, still awake at the ungodly hour, looked up to see the new comer, before going back to whatever they were doing. Apart from one.

Her large grey eyes widened in shock as the tall dark haired man sat down in the seat opposite her.

"Austen?" he cocked an eyebrow, nodding at the open book on the table.

"It-t's for a play" she stammered, the faintest hint of an American accent slipping out. She collected her coat in an attempt to move, but he caught her arm in a loose, but demanding, grip.

"Not before we have a little word" His tone was low, soft, but like the hold on her wrist, not one she could disobey.

"Please Sherlock!" she whispered, eyes boring into his. "I can't talk right now"

He smirked, as usual, it didn't reach his eyes.

"Still working for Norton?" it wasn't a question, he never asked them, especially not to her.

"If you're going to…"

"It's about Tori" He cut her off, finally realising the hold on her arm, though keeping his eyes trained on hers.

"Who? If this is some joke-"

"Victoria. Your daughter. My daughter. Our child" he spit out the words, any hint of humour disappeared.

She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off again.

"She was targeted, last week, nearly died" her hand flew up to her open mouth, fear creeping into her irises.

"By Moriarty. He targeted her and there's a chance he'll come after you. I thought it was the decent thing to do"

It was his turn to get up, sticking his hands in his pockets, when she reached out to pull him back.

"Do you have a picture? Of her"

He was planning on ignoring her, letting her suffer a little, like he had all those hours in hospital waiting by Tori's side.

But then he saw those eye's, sparkling grey orbs, passed onto his daughter.

Who was also her daughter. Even if he didn't like it, there was a bond between them and with Tori's image in his mind he pulled out his phone and showed her a picture John had taken months back. Of her sitting in 221b, in Sherlock's armchair that he occasionally allowed her to use, eyes looking off into the distance.

"She's pretty"

"Yes" He checked his watch, he should be with his child, not here, with her.

"Her name's Victoria?" She looked up carefully, every so often her eyes darting back to the screen.

"Tori, Yes"

"She must have boys waiting up the block" she smiled weakly at her little joke, unaware of what it was doing to him.

"She has no use for relationships" he said through gritted teeth, here she was trying to be funny, while her daughter was on the brink of dying.

"Well of course, you're the father" She remembered the morning after when he insisted he 'wasn't her boyfriend'. Every morning after.

"Why did you do it?" Immediately, her eyes clouded with fear.

"I just…"

"Please" It was the first time she'd heard him plead with her.

"If not for me, for her"

She looked down at the phone, guilt once more clenching at her stomach.

"I was so young, barely left school. Not ready for a baby. You defiantly weren't ready for fatherhood"

"At least I wouldn't have left her in some dingy alley-"

"Don't. Just don't try and punish me for it, I've had to deal with that every day since"

Her eyes were large with anger and guilt, fingers trembling against the wooden table and the plastic top of his phone. The polar opposite of her calm and collected tone.

He sighed, covering her shaking hand with his own, drawing comforting circles in the soft skin.

"I apologise, it was low of me"

They sat in silence, each training their eyes on the other.

"Can I see her?"

He was thrown by her question but did not let it falter his features.

"Why?"

"I want to"

"No"

"It's my right"

"I believe you gave up that up the last time you saw her"

"I'm still her mother"

"Well I'm her father"

"Which gives you the right to keep her from me? Just tell me Sherlock"

"St Barts. Best time would be after hours"

"Thank you" she got up, walked a few steps before hearing her follow. She turned and planted a quick kiss to his lips.

He stood still, the familiar sensation of her skin on his hitting him. Reminding him of what he could have had, the family he could have had.

But it was too late for that, she pulled away abruptly, he couldn't lie and say it wasn't a little too early for his liking.

"Thank you" a faint smile lingered across her lips, before she turned to leave.

The heart monitor beeped as the IV drip attached to Tori's arm sent another wave of relief down her veins.

Raising her eye lids groggily, black dots swimming in front of her pupils. As she focused on the hospital lighting she felt a pricking at the corners of his eyes. Carefully she moved to sit upright but was stopped by a pair of strong arms.

"Hey" Sherlock appeared in her eye line, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and hurt.

She swatted away the hand that tried to push her back down to sleeping position.

"You need to rest, your body needs to recover" He stopped forcing her, instead rearranging the position of her blankets. Never would he be seen displaying this kind of vulnerability anywhere else. But this was just him and her, everyone else had left, and she was either to drugged up to remember or simply didn't care.

"I've been asleep for nearly two days, I think a few hours awake won't kill me" If possible she was tired of sleeping, the hours of dull blackness was maddening.

"How you feeling?" He relaxed in his chair, satisfied she was comfortable enough.

"Bit…blegh" she motioned with a spin of her hand, head lolling back on the thin pillow. "Better than earlier, or yesterday as it was" Her tongue slipped out to lick her lips and he produced a cup of water to her mouth quicker than lightning.

Once she'd had enough he left the drink on the bedside table, still watching as she fiddled with the patient wrist band.

"What'll happen?" She asked, extremely out of the blue, not daring to look at him.

Even though the medication the doctors have administered were helping, the voice's still haven't been drowned out completely. She still has a little niggling thought that they may be right, about no one wanting her.

"You'll go back into care" he replied bluntly, knowing full well what she meant.

"I meant…never mind, it was stupid" she relaxed a bit more in her bed, deciding the thoughts were ridiculous.

Sighing, he leaned forward, now would be a good as time as any to tell her. All drugged up and morphine on hand if she got angry. And she would get angry.

"Tori" stroking a few fingers on her arm. "You should know I care about you and this is going to be a sho-"

"Oh sorry, I thought you'd be gone" That voice again, cold, bland but slightly emotional.

"Hi" Tori pulled the arm he was holding to wave at the new arrival. "Are you a new doctor?"

She seemed stunned for a few minutes, focussing on the young girl. "Oh, no. I'm actually a friend of Sherlock" She strode forward, coming to stand next to the scowling Detective. "Irene Adler, hi"

The younger girl, looked between the two, focusing on finding the missing link. The woman looked vaguely familiar, like a face in a picture from years ago. There was defiantly some spark between her and Sherlock.

"Sorry, have we met before?"

Irene shot a looked at the detective, which he returned with a warning.

"No, I don't think we have"

"I swear I've seen you before"

"You won't have met" Sherlock leaned in, creating a barrier between them. "Tori you should get some sleep" He began pushing her gently into a sleeping position; surprisingly she complied and rested her head against the pillow.

"So" she asked, getting comfortable but making no plans to sleep. "How do you and Sherlock know each other?" Her eyes closing, not completely shut, but more relaxed.

"We met at Oxford"

"She's an old friend"

The words were spoken simultaneously and in her drugged state, it merged into one, long, mixed up sentence.

"Sorry?"

"We met at University" Irene replied, sitting down next to Sherlock, daring to reach out and stroke her small hand.

"Oxford?" she asked weakly, relaxing as the woman stroked the skin of her palms. "When I was little I wanted to go there" The last words came out in a dazed mumble, her eyes finally closing.

"Tori go to sleep" Sherlock instructed, getting up to tuck her in.

"Not tired" she murmured before falling into a deep sleep.

Irene chuckled, letting go of the hand and making her way to leave.

She'd almost reached the door when his cold hard voice stopped him.

"What do you think?"

"She's more perfect than either of us deserve"

They were the last words they would hear the other say for a long time.

_A.N_

_Did it make your expectations? I quite liked it. The second part more than the first._

_Writing Irene was extremely hard, not knowing how the BBC will portray her. Just one more chapter left, a nice little Epilogue to close the story. _

_Also if anyone would like to write Tori finding out who her parents are, they're more than welcome. I'd love to read it, but like I said before, I'm too lazy to think of it._

_Love Rosie_


	18. Chapter 18

Epilogue

21 Facts about Tori Luck

1. Her first word was "phone" at 17 months, immediately before the call came in moving her to a new home. Social workers still gossip about it.

2. Her favourite activity, when she has any spare time, is to go running along tower bridge.

3. She dislikes the country side, living her whole life in London and watching too many forest horror movies have given her a strong aversion to fields and livestock.

4. She has only left Brittan twice. Once with Sherlock to see Denmark. The other age eleven on a school visit to Paris, it was also the same time when the Lurve was broken into. Not that she had anything to do with it.

5. She's trying to teach herself how to knit, usually at night when she can't sleep. So far she's created a scarf with several holes in it and an un-finished hat.

6. Mycroft's assistant and her became good friends after being stuck in an elevator for four hours during a black out. They meet every week for self-defence class and she's named her Maddy.

7. Age eight she'd discovered who'd stolen her school teacher's engagement ring. That'd peaked her curiosity in solving mysteries.

8. She has a friendship bracelet from Amy, given at Christmas two years ago and wears it every day.

9. Once she was a body double for a European princess. It isn't talked about much, but what is known is she had to wear a ball gown and tiara, dance with several foreign leaders and kiss

a Russian bureaucratese's son.

10. Her favourite tic tac's are the green ones. With wine gums it's the black, of course.

11. Mycroft sends his 'people' to follow her. She pretends she doesn't notice to keep him happy.

12. She owns a licence to drive a motor bike, just in case the need arrives.

13. At any given time she has hundreds of thoughts floating round her head like balloons trapped in a bottle.

14. As a child she read Nancy Drew books all the time and for a year tied her hair back with a ribbon.

15. Although working with Sherlock takes up a lot of her time she works five days a week in Angelo's restaurant. She enjoys the job and has only taken one day of leave, spent in bed, recovering from a bad case of flu.

16. Chai tea is her favourite drink, preferably with a biscuit

17. Sherlock is teaching her to play chess, but it isn't going smoothly. There have been a lot of broken pieces when one, or both, have lost their temper.

18. When using technology she has a strange quirk of typing certain words with a capital letter.

19. She currently resides in 221b Baker Street. The room behind the kitchen.

20. Her 19th birthday is coming up, John is planning a surprise party for her, it's not that much of a surprise.

21. Although her life is strange, dangerous and sometimes life threatening she wouldn't change it for the world.

_A.N._

_Well that's it. The end of the story…or is it?_

_Yes. It is. _

_Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, it really made my day._

_But! I may put up some drabbles about miss luck, if I get enough encouragement. They will most likely be set in the future, at least two or three years ahead. As you've just read, she's living with John and Sherlock and still works with them on their cases. _

_They mostly focus on her life at baker street, with very little plot line or lengthy text._

_A few are very far away, i.e. she's married, has_


End file.
